T-cell exhaustion is a state of T-cell dysfunction that arises during many chronic infections and cancer. It is defined by poor T-cell effector function, sustained expression of inhibitory receptors and a transcriptional state distinct from that of functional effector or memory T-cells. Exhaustion prevents optimal control of infection and tumors. (E John Wherry., Nature Immunology 12, 492-499 (2011)).
T-cell exhaustion is characterized by the stepwise and progressive loss of T-cell functions. Exhaustion is well-defined during chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection and commonly develops under conditions of antigen-persistence, which occur following many chronic infections including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus infections, as well as during tumor metastasis. Exhaustion is not a uniformly disabled setting as a gradation of phenotypic and functional defects can manifest, and these cells are distinct from prototypic effector, memory and also anergic T cells. Exhausted T cells most commonly emerge during high-grade chronic infections, and the levels and duration of antigenic stimulation are critical determinants of the process. (Yi et al., Immunology April 2010; 129(4):474-481).
Circulating human tumor-specific CD8+ T cells may be cytotoxic and produce cytokines in vivo, indicating that self- and tumor-specific human CD8+ T cells can reach functional competence after potent immunotherapy such as vaccination with peptide, incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA), and CpG or after adoptive transfer. In contrast to peripheral blood, T-cells from metastasis are functionally deficient, with abnormally low cytokine production and upregulation of the inhibitory receptors PD-1, CTLA-4, and TIM-3.
Functional deficiency is reversible, since T-cells isolated from melanoma tissue can restore IFN-γ production after short-term in vitro culture. However, it remains to be determined whether this functional impairment involves further molecular pathways, possibly resembling T-cell exhaustion or anergy as defined in animal models. (Baitsch et al., J Clin Invest. 2011; 121(6):2350-2360).
Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), also called CD279, is a type I membrane protein encoded in humans by the PDCD1 gene. It has two ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2.
The PD-1 pathway is a key immune-inhibitory mediator of T-cell exhaustion. Blockade of this pathway can lead to T-cell activation, expansion, and enhanced effector functions. As such, PD-1 negatively regulates T cell responses. PD-1 has been identified as a marker of exhausted T cells in chronic disease states, and blockade of PD-1:PD-1L interactions has been shown to partially restore T cell function. (Sakuishi et al., JEM Vol. 207, Sep. 27, 2010, pp 2187-2194).
Nivolumab (BMS-936558) is an anti-PD-1 antibody that was approved for the treatment of melanoma in Japan in July 2014. Other anti-PD-1 antibodies are described in WO 2010/077634, WO 2006/121168.
T cell immunoglobulin mucin 3 (TIM-3) is an immune regulator identified as being upregulated on exhausted CD8+ T cells (Sakuishi et al., JEM Vol. 207, Sep. 27, 2010, pp 2187-2194). TIM-3 was originally identified as being selectively expressed on IFN-γ-secreting Th1 and Tc1 cells. Interaction of TIM-3 with its ligand, galectin-9, triggers cell death in TIM-3+ T cells. Anti-TIM-3 antibodies are described in Ngiow et al (Cancer Res. 2011 May 15; 71(10):3540-51), and in U.S. Pat. No. 8,552,156
Both TIM-3 and PD-1 can function as negative regulators of T cell responses and combined targeting of the TIM-3 and PD-1 pathways is more effective in controlling tumor growth than targeting either pathway alone. (Sakuishi et al., JEM Vol. 207, Sep. 27, 2010, pp 2187-2194; and Ngiow et al Cancer Res. 2011 May 15; 71 (10):3540-51).
TIM-3 can also be expressed on the surface of tumor cells, particularly tumor cells of hematopoietic origin, such for example acute myeloid leukemia cells (Kikushige et al., Cell Stem Cell 2010; 3:7(6)708-17), Therefore in some instances TIM-3 could be a tumor-associated antigen that could be targeted by specific antibodies.